Just now and again it can do us all good to broaden our horizons and extend our wildlife watching outside familiar places. And so it was that 30 of us ( the greater part from Ceredigion) boarded the P & O ferry the 'Pride of Bilbao' at Portsmouth on the 5th of September on an exciting 4 day whale watching mini-cruise to Spain. We had booked our holiday via the Shetland based eco-tour company known as 'The Company of Whales' operated by my good friend Hugh Harrop. Our highly experienced and excellent guides were Dylan Walker and Judd Hunt. We were indeed in very good hands. Unfortunately we didn't get off to a good start as the ferry was delayed coming into Portsmouth due to the horrendous weather encountered on the previous outward journey to Bilbao which then threw everything out of sequence so we were left with a 'long' wait in Portsmouth. We killed a bit of time by enjoying the delights of the 'Gunwharf Quay' and we wined and dined at various establishments. If it wasn't for the delay we may not have had the pleasure of discovering this area of Portsmouth with its vibrant atmosphere. Anyway we eventually got 'under way' at 2.30am! From there on things just got a 'lot' better and the weather was just superb and the sea was kind to us.
The wildlife sightings across the Biscay and on the walk in the Serrantes foothills above the port of Santurtzi in Spain enthralled everyone. Every one of us on the trip got something out of it whether it was their first sighting of a whale or a 'lifer' in terms of the birds we saw. I have crossed the Biscay a few times now and the highlights for me personally on this trip were gaining excellent views of a rare Little Shearwater flying close to a 'Manxie' which provided excellent size comparison, a 'dainty' little bird as Judd one of the guides described it. I was also thrilled to see a fish 'boil' when scores of silverfish, probably pilchard or sprats, attempted to escape from Yellowfin Tuna which occasionally breached clear of the water. I also saw my 1st 'Preying Mantis'. The vast majority of us too witnessed the 'Green Flash' immediately following the magnificent setting sun as it dipped below the Biscayne horizon.
During this voyage we encountered no less than '10' species of cetacean! Which included, Common Dolphin, Striped Dolphin, Bottlenose Dolphin and Risso's Dolphins, Fin Whale, Sperm Whale, Minke Whale, Cuvier's Beaked Whales and Pilot Whales (which are called 'Blackfish' and actually form part of the dolphin family). We also saw many Harbour Porpoise. We also saw 2 Ocean Sunfish. Apart from the Little Shearwater we also recorded Great, Sooty and Cory's shearwaters. Other highlights were an adult Sabine's Gull. We had a count of 32 'Bonxies' (Great Skua) and 1 Arctic Skua. A number of Grey Phalaropes were seen too. The greatest surprise of all was the sighting of a Short-eared Owl by 'hawkeye' Harry Pepper in the channel approaches (then of course they are migrants). Jeremy Moore spotted a falcon species. Raptors were well represented on the walk in the foothills in Spain with sightings of a Honey Buzzard, Short toed Eagle, Griffon Vultures, Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk. A Weasel was also spotted by Angie Polkey being harassed by birds. This was a 'first' recorded by 'The Company of Whales' on their walks in Spain.
For more detailed information of all the wildlife encountered during this trip please see the 'Latest News' section on 'The Company of Whales' website http://www.companyofwhales.co.uk/
Every trip across the Bay of Biscay is different and in my view that's what makes it challenging. Of course the weather does play a major part in terms of what you can see and anyone crossing the Bay will have to prepare themselves for every eventuality. Even in summer the weather can turn stormy as it did on the previous voyage but the Biscay's bad reputation is not really justified as the weather can be glorious as our group can testify!
We held a raffle on-board with some fantastic prizes on offer and as a result of that we raised an excellent sum of £180 for the marine charity ORCA (Organisation Cetacea). I wish to acknowledge my immense gratitude to the following organisations who donated the prizes for the raffle:- Hugh Harrop, Director of 'The Company of Whales', Stephen Marsh, Corporate Manager of the marine charity 'ORCA' (Organisation Cetacea), Steve Hartley of the 'Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre' at New Quay. Lyndon Lomax- Naturalist Guide for the Pembrokeshire based boat tour operators 'Voyages of Discovery' and 'Thousand Island Expeditions' who both donated vouchers for boat trips. Lyndon was supposed to join us but sadly he was unable to due to ill health. I'm sure we all wish him a speedy recovery.
But I reserve my most heartfelt thanks to every member of our group for their participation, their good company, their generosity and their keen observation which ensured that our adventure across the Bay of Biscay was a memorable one.
If anyone has any images of our group trip which they wish to attach to this article then please e-mail them to me.